Nicolas-Joseph Dessalines

Nicolas-Joseph Dessalines (1761-) was a general of the French First Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars.

Biography
Nicolas-Joseph Dessalines was born in Sezanne, Marne department, France in 1761 to a Second Estate family of nobles. Dessalines joined the French Army at a young age, rising through the ranks until he became the colonel in command of one of the Armee du Nord's regiments. In 1789, Dessalines and the militia and lancers of the Armee du Nord mutinied against the Kingdom of France near Sedan at the start of the French Revolution, and Dessalines led his army into Paris to fight for the revolution. The French revolutionaries succeeded in taking Paris from the royalist militia forces, and Dessalines' troops won the revolution against King Louis XVI of France. His army garrisoned Paris during the wars, and Dessalines held a home command for much of the war against the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, and their allies.